Physical location history with URL and positioning system

ABSTRACT

A personalized way to digitally record a person&#39;s physical activities over time serves web searching, business advertising, nostalgia, security and object tracing purposes. The chronological digital history of the person&#39;s physical presence over a time includes (i) digital network entries from other members who hold their portable wireless short range device near the person&#39;s device and transmit a URL or other key data and (ii) digital member entries such a digital photograph of a store sign. The digital network entries and digital member entries are automatically transmitted to a database located on a telecommunications network at a time of entry. Advertisers can transmit to members when members enter premises of advertiser&#39;s store. Upon sign-up online, the authentication data uniquely associated with an account is provided and key data they want to transmit is associated with the account. Digital histories can be used to improve web searching and networking opportunities.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the present invention is the accumulation of a digitalrecord of a person's physical presence across time, i.e. a “leghistory”, and more particularly, such a digital leg history thatincludes data from members of a network as well as data from imagesobtained unilaterally by the person.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART

When a person/user surfs the world wide web, the user's browsermaintains a surf history. For example, AOL® has an arrow next to the URLwindow that when clicked opens up a drop-down menu of previously visitedweb sites. Internet Explorer® has a more extensive search historyfeature that allows you to see all sites visited by someone at thecomputer on a certain date as well as a list of the most visited sites.It allows the user to search the list of sites. These surf histories orlists of previously visited web sites are lists of places that existonly in cyberspace and which the user has visited. Also, often the sitesvisited are gigantic sites that tens of millions of people visit per dayor week and hence do not characterize the life of the person very much.Knowing that a person visited google.com no more tells you about thatperson's personality, life, uniqueness than would knowing that theperson passed through a major intersection in Manhattan. Consequently,surf history lists cannot be said to meaningfully characterize the lifeof the user during a particular period of time. It could not provide aperson reviewing their own history with the satisfaction, nostalgia andpractical value associated with a digital leg history that meaningfullycharacterizes that person's life and past physical activities.

Some of the data that a person may wish to include in his digital leghistory is data that exists handily on the electronic transmissiondevice of another person he encounters and concerns that other person.There are also known methods of transferring data objects betweenportable electronic devices using short-range wireless communicationmethods, such as described in United States Patent ApplicationPublication No. US 2005/0085188 to Ishii et al. entitled Method forTransferring Data Objects Between Portable Devices. The prior art,however, does not disclose using such transmission in the context of anoverall digital leg history, especially not in the manner described morefully below.

Although there also exists various ways of recording events in one'slife in digital form, see, e.g., U.S. Patent Application Publication No.US 2007/0008321 to Gallagher et al. entitled Identifying CollectionImages With Special Events, the prior art does not teach the idea of adigital leg history with the characteristics and advantages describedmore fully below.

In addition, it is believed that in the not too distant future thedistinction between business and individuals may be blurred sinceeveryone will have a URL. This will also blur the distinction betweenadvertisements and URLs since a person or business will be able tosimply point a person to its or their URL and the web site located therewill function as an advertisement

There is compelling need to have data on the location and activities,past and present, of individuals. Such monitoring for security andpolice purposes raises “big brother” concerns. Even if such concerns canbe met in various ways, empirically people may be severely reluctant tovoluntarily submit to such monitoring unless the ability to monitorarose out of natural activities that people enjoyed doing. Accordingly,it is very useful to be able to have a digital leg history that peoplecan use to sit back and review their life history in a novel andinteresting way. Furthermore, such a digital leg history would therebyprovide a way for security to be enhanced. The security needs of thepublic are often compelling, particularly since the advent of the globalwar on terror.

As an adjunct to the need to need to have data on the location andactivities, past and present, of individuals and businesses, there isalso a related need to have such data on the time and place of datatransmissions or transfers.

Another basic need among businesses in society is advertising.Businesses are always looking for new venues in which to advertise. Whenuse of the Internet became commonplace in the late 1990's businessadvertising on the Internet exploded. A digital leg history that isattractive to users would provide a new venue for businesses toadvertise in.

Another problem unrelated to the above, and one that aggravates people,is finding their own possessions after such possessions have beenseemingly lost. A person could buy something in a store, go to adoctor's appointment, meet a friend etc. over a period of hours and thenrealize that they lost an object that they were carrying or a valuablepossession and do not have an easy way to figure out where it could be.If they had a clear log of where they had been and when and which peoplethey had met during a defined time interval it would be easier to findlost objects. If the generating of such a log were not time-consuming onthe part of the person generating it, it would be particularly useful.

Accordingly, there is a need to have a digital record of a person'spast—where they have been physically—that includes people or places thatthey met that they consider significant enough to record for lateruse—as well as data transmitted from other members of a networkincluding friends and including business members interested inadvertising. There is a need to have such a log whose entries wouldautomatically be transmitted to a database on the Internet. There is afurther need to have a digital leg history that is appealing to review,including but not limited to reasons of nostalgia, that can be used topromote public security, that can provide a new venue for businessadvertisement and that can help track and ultimately find lost objects.

Another problem is that the world wide web and Internet in general havebecome dominated by large entities such as Google®. It is fair to saythat while the Internet and world wide web has successfully connectedeveryone to everyone else, and this has provided new and greatopportunities for smaller business and individuals, it is still fair tosay that the world wide web, and in particular the process of searchingthe world wide web, has become dominated by a few large businesses.There is a need to allow smaller businesses and entities to feature moreheavily in importance during web searching. Furthermore, it is fair tosay that the process of searching the world wide web does not adequatelytake cognizance of the unique characteristics and tastes of thesearching person. There is therefore a further need to allow websearching to better take cognizance of the unique tastes andcharacteristics of the searching person.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

Although accumulated electronically, the present invention is a viewableand updateable digital leg history conveying various kinds ofinformation about where a person has physically been stretching back aday, a month, a year of many years. The entries represent various kindsof data that a person obtained at different points in time. The types ofdata can be data about the place he is in. It can be data concerning theperson he met. It can be data concerning a business he visited. It canbe data that another person he met thought was interesting. The datacharacterizing a place he was at can be in any sensory form. The dataconcerning people and businesses he met can be contact information,URLs, advertisements or another data. In some case, the people that theperson encountered were members of the same network that the personsigned up for to obtain this digital history. In other cases, the“people” are businesses that are interested to providing URLs, contactinformation or advertisements that will sit in the person's digital leghistory and be viewed whenever the person looks at their leg history.

The data captured along the trail of a person's daily encounters aretransmitted or entered electronically and stored in that person'shand-held electronic device. The data is also simultaneously sent to anonline database holding that person's digital leg history.

A prerequisite of the system is that a manufacturer of electronicdevices, i.e. cell phones, will have agreed to install special software89 into the cell phone or other electronic device allowing it to uploaddata to a database on the web and to receive and transmit to other suchelectronic devices preferably using short range wireless communicationmethods, for example Bluetooth®.

Customers of the system of the present invention then sign up at a website for a fee and obtain an account with the system. They therebyobtain data receiving privileges. In certain preferred embodiments, theyalso thereby obtain limited data transmitting privileges, in that theycan transmit a URL or an electronic business card to another member ofthe system. If they want more extensive data transmitting privileges,they pay more under a separate package. In either case, they provide adigital copy of the data that they want to have stored in their cellphone to be transmitted to others. The data can be a business card, aURL, or, under the more extensive data transmitting package a song theylike or an insight into a topic they are studying or anything else.

Signing up requires identifying the particular electronic device withits serial number. The system recognizes that device's right to uploadinformation to the account/databank and the system will also transmitthe data that the accountholder wanted to transmit to others to thedevice.

As an individual goes through his day, he may encounter people atmeetings that he considers significant enough to record in his leghistory. If the two individuals are both members of the system they eachtake out their cell phones and place them in reasonable proximity to oneanother. The receiving individual first pushes a button on his or hercell phone to put the receiving person's phone in receiving mode. Thenthe transmitting person pushes a button on his or her cell phone causingthe data of the transmitter/sender to be transmitted to the receiver'scell phone. The receiving individual then pushes the same button on hiscommunication device that he pushed before, in order to now store and“accept” the data. In a preferred embodiment, when the data first goesfrom the system's web site to the transmitter's cell phone the data is“coded” so that when the transmitter later transmits it to a recipient,the recipient cannot re-transmit that sender's data to another member ofthe network even if the recipient attains or has transmitting privileges

That is one type of entry recorded in the leg history—a digital networkentry. Another type of entry—a digital member entry—gets entered intothe person's leg history unilaterally without requiring the activity ofanother person being a member of the system. For example theaccountholder takes a snapshot with a digital camera or videos a sceneat a park and uploads it to his databank at the system. Vendors andadvertisers can as members of the system transmit to members of thenetwork who enter the store (or who are paying at the cashier) data suchas contact information or a store URL. In certain embodiments, theperson can enter the data into the person's leg history by simplekeyboard while he waits for the cashier.

When the user gets home at the end of his day, he accesses his leghistory and sees a list of entries. The types of entries in the leghistory are coded—by icon, color or acronym—to indicate whether it is atransmission from another member of the system, whether it is simplecontact info such as a URL, whether, it is from a business, whether itis a scene or audio that came from a camera or a tape recorder. It isalso time and place stamped. If he enters the item on the list he ofcourse can access the full data transmitted. But the list itself giveshim a quick leg history of where he was for any period of time.

In another preferred embodiment, signing up does not entail registeringthe serial number of the network device used by the member. Rather anynetwork device outfitted with the software of the present invention canbe used to access the database containing the digital history of aparticular person by providing authentication data uniquely associatedwith a particular account at the database, which account contains aparticular person's digital history.

In a further embodiment, advertising on a person's digital history willbe possible and can be based on the profile of URLs that the person hasin their digital history.

In a still further embodiment, an improved method of searching the worldwide web is provided that makes use of digital histories. In one versionof this embodiment, a searching person searches a database of URLs for acertain kind of business (in a particular geographic area or of acertain topic category) by means of a search algorithm that considers aplurality of factors in ranking search results of URLs. The searchalgorithm is given access to the digital histories of persons who aremembers of the network and the search algorithm or the systemcontrolling the database finds a target business of that kind (in theparticular geographic area or of that topic) wherein a URL of the targetbusiness appears in a digital history of a useful person who is a memberof the network, the digital history of the useful person also includinga URL for a second business of the same kind located in a secondgeographic area (or a second business of a second kind), wherein thesearching person has in his digital history the URL of the secondbusiness. As a result, the plurality of factors includes an assignmentof priority to the URL of the target business.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

The following objects and advantages may be present in certainembodiments of the present invention are:

(1) to provide a method and apparatus for the accumulation of a digitalhistory of the person's physical presence over time;

(2) to provide such a method and apparatus that serves a nostalgiapurpose in that it allows a person to view digital lists or records ofwhere they have been at various points in time during their life;

(3) to provide such a method and apparatus that also provides a policeand public security function by keeping track of a person's physicalpresence in detail;

(4) to provide such a method and apparatus that also provides a policeand public security function by keeping track of the physical presenceof a population of persons in detail;

(5) to provide such a method and apparatus as in Object and Advantage“(3)” that benefits the person and thereby encourages the person tomaintain the digital history;

(6) to provide such a method and apparatus that also allows a person totrace and find lost objects by allowing the person to identify and thencheck places that he may have left the object at during a certain mostrecent time interval;

(7) to provide such a method and apparatus that also serves the functionof allowing a business to advertise itself on the digital historythereby creating a new venue for business advertising;

(8) to provide such a method and apparatus as in Object and Advantage“(7)” that allows the business to have an entry in the digital historywhich functions as an advertisement for that business;

(9) to provide such a method and apparatus as in Object and Advantage“(8)” that includes the URL of the business or a more elaborateadvertisement;

(10) to provide a method and apparatus for the accumulation of a digitalhistory of a person's physical presence over a period of time thatcombines (a) digital network entries received from a member of thenetwork by close-range transmission using network communication devicesand (b) digital member entries by the person himself of things theperson perceived, i.e. saw, heard, touched, smelled and/or tasted, andthat he considered significant;

(11) to provide such a digital history as in Object and Advantage “(10)”wherein the close-range transmission occurs between hand-heldcommunication devices such as cell phones;

(12) to provide such a digital history wherein data is transmitted fromthe network device of a member of the network to the network device ofthe person after the person inputs a cue on the person's network deviceto receive data and wherein after transmission of the data the personinputs a cue to receive said data;

(13) to provide such a digital history wherein digital network entriesautomatically include a viewable recordation of time and place of entryand wherein digital member entries automatically include a viewablerecordation of time and place of entry, the place of entry informationcoming from a global positioning system that the person is incommunication with;

(14) to provide a method and apparatus that would allow a person to sitat home and easily review and relive important moments of their life;

(15) to provide a method and apparatus of capturing important moments ina person's life;

(16) to provide a method and apparatus that allows a person to capture,access and relive important moments or periods of the person's life inthe form of a digital “leg” history;

(17) to provide to provide a method and apparatus that allows a personto capture, access and relive important moments or periods of theperson's life in the form of a digital “leg” history and thatsimultaneously provides a format for businesses to advertise within thedigital “leg” history;

(18) to provide a method and apparatus for the exchange of electronicbusiness cards;

(19) to provide a method and apparatus for the exchange of URLs;

(20) to provide a method and apparatus for the exchange of URLs that caninclude the URLs of businesses;

(21) to provide a method and apparatus as described in the above Objectsand Advantages in which the digital network entries and the digitalmember entries are automatically transmitted to a database located on atelecommunications network (such as a global telecommunications network)at the time of entry,

(22) to provide a method and apparatus as described in Object andAdvantage “(20)” wherein access to an entire collection of the digitalhistory for viewing thereof can be accomplished by the person byaccessing the database;

(23) to provide a method and apparatus for a digital “leg” history thatincludes entries from vendors or businesses who are members of thenetwork, said entries occurring when a person who is a member of thenetwork enters the premises of the vendor or business and receives anautomatic electronic transmission from pre-placed network communicationdevices located at entrances to said premises;

(24) to provide a method and apparatus as per Object and Advantage“(23)” wherein the person chooses whether to accept the transmissionfrom the vendor or business upon entry into the premises;

(25) to provide a method and apparatus for a digital history of a personover time which requires the person to sign up with a network, forexample, at a web site;

(26) to provide such a method and apparatus of a digital history whereinwhen you sign up you have the option of providing data that would besent to your network communication device, such as a cell phone, whichupon encountering another member of the network can be transmitted tosaid other member;

(27) to provide such a method and apparatus for a digital history as perObject and Advantage “(26)” wherein said data can include such things asan electronic business or a URL;

(28) to provide such a method and apparatus for a digital history as perObject and Advantage “(27)” wherein said data can also include anythingimportant to the person such as a song that they like or an insight intoa topic they are studying;

(29) a method and apparatus of a digital “leg” history wherein incertain alternative embodiments, when the person signs up with thenetwork the person has the option of allowing advertisers or a selectsubset of advertisers to automatically send advertisements into yourdigital history;

(30) a method and apparatus of creating a digital representation of aperson's past;

(31) a method and apparatus of creating an updateable digitalrepresentation of a person's past;

(32) to provide a method and apparatus for a digital “leg” historywherein entries in the leg history, particular digital network entries,can be just a URL alone, such that when the person reviews the digitalhistory, the person can make a single click on the URL and automaticallybe taken to the member's web site associated with that URL;

(33) to provide a new method and apparatus for organizing informationabout a person;

(34) to provide a new method and apparatus for organizing and reviewinginformation about a large group of people;

(35) to provide a digital leg history that through continuous dailyupdating can transform the daily leg history into a monthly, a yearlyand a decade or longer leg history;

(36) to provide a digital leg history that is not difficult ortime-consuming to accumulate;

(37) to provide a new way to organize information that is important to aperson;

(38) to provide a method and apparatus that combines the interests ofadvertisers and of ordinary potential consumers;

(39) to provide a method and apparatus for a digital leg history thatuses a global position system to trigger the recordation of time andplace based upon a person's data entry or data transfer;

(40) to provide a method and apparatus for a digital leg history that isaccumulated effortlessly in the sense that it is incidental to datatasks that would otherwise be performed anyway;

(41) to provide a method of serving advertisements to a person based onthe URL profiles of the person whose leg history it is;

(42) to provide a method and apparatus of a collection of URLs formingpart of the leg history of the present invention such that advertisersserve advertisements in the leg history based on the nature of theseURLs;

(43) to provide a method of using digital histories to improve websearching by identifying a “useful business” in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

(44) to provide a method of using digital histories to enhance websearching through enhancing networking opportunities;

(45) to provide a method of using digital histories in web searchingthat has the effect of elevating the importance of smaller companies andentities relative to larger business and entities within the world wideand web and Internet; and

(46) to provide a digital leg history whose entries are in chronologicalorder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified schematic diagram in accordance with the methodand apparatus of the present invention showing a member signing up andproviding key data, which data is then transmitted to the member's cellphone;

FIG. 2 is a simplified schematic diagram of an encounter between twomembers of the network that generates a digital network entry into theleg history of one of the members in accordance with the method andapparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a simplified schematic diagram showing an individual member ofthe network entering the premises of a vendor member of the network andaccepting a transmission from the vendor's pre-positioned device thatgenerates a digital network entry in the digital leg history of themember in accordance with the method and apparatus of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3A is a simplified schematic diagram of a member adjacent a secondentrance to the premise of the vendor member of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a simplified schematic diagram of a situation where a memberphotographs a store sign to generate a digital member entry into the leghistory of a member in accordance with the apparatus and method of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is a screen page in the digital leg history of a member displayedon a computer screen of a PDA or other electronic device of a member inaccordance with the apparatus and method of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a simplified schematic diagram in accordance with the methodand apparatus of the present invention showing a member signing up andproviding key data;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for the second preferred embodiment covering thesteps leading to a digital network entry or a digital member entry inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a digital history of the present invention containing onlyURLs and appearing in the “monthly calendar” embodiment; and

FIG. 9 shows the method of searching for businesses of a certain kind ina certain geographic area using the digital histories of the presentinvention to identify a “useful person” in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The apparatus and method of the present invention will now beillustrated by reference to the accompanying drawings. The apparatus ofthe present invention has been assigned reference numeral 10 Otherelements have been assigned the reference numerals referred to below.

As seen from FIGS. 1-5, apparatus 10 is a viewable and updateabledigital history 10 of a person's physical presence over a time. It is achronologically arranged collection of viewable entries on a computer orother viewable electronic device. The collection includes various typesof entries, which can be divided into general categories. Each categoryof entries has preferably numerous entries in the category. In analternative embodiment, there can be only one entry in a particularcategory.

In order for any entry in the digital leg history to occur, the systemhas to first be set up. A manufacturer of electronic devices such ascell phones has to have agreed to install software 89, whose content isknown to those skilled in the art of computer science, into the cellphone or other device allowing it to upload data to a database on aglobal (or smaller) telecommunication network such as the world wide weband to receive and transmit wirelessly to other such devices, forexample known short range wireless communications methods such asBluetooth®. Such software 89 can be readily developed or is alreadyknown to those skilled in the art.

When the present invention refers to cell phones as an example of ahandheld electronic network device 22, it should be understood that thepresent invention specifically contemplates other such electronicdevices that could carry the software 89 used in the present invention.For example, network device 22 can include any other handheld electronicdevice that is typically carried around by people during their dayincluding IPods, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants, smalllaptop computers media players including video and/or game players,possibly digital cameras, Internet terminals, and GPS and remote controldevices. In certain embodiments, it could also include bar codescanners. It can also include multi-function electronic devices thatincorporate the functionalities of all or combinations of these devices.In addition, vendors may utilize electronic devices that are at theentrances to their premises, as explained more fully below. In such acase, the device 22 need not be handheld and could be a computer.

In a preferred embodiment, customers of the system of the presentinvention sign up at a web site 121 for a fee and obtain an account withthe system, thereby becoming a member of the network. In certain otherpreferred embodiments, no fee will be charged. By signing up the membersthereby obtain data receiving privileges. They also thereby obtainlimited data transmitting privileges, in that they can transmit theirURL (or other basic contact information) to another member of thesystem. If they want more extensive data transmitting privileges, theypay more (or enroll without paying in certain embodiments) under aseparate package. In either case, they provide a digital copy of thedata that they want to have stored in their cell phone to be transmittedto others. This data is sometimes referred to herein for convenience as“key data” 15. The key data 15 can be a business card, a URL, or, underthe more extensive data transmitting package, key data 15 can be a songthey like or a discussion of a topic they are studying, or it can beanything else that the member considered significant enough to betransmitted later. In certain alternative embodiments, key data 15 islimited to URLs, or in other embodiments, limited to URLs, electronicbusiness cards and business advertisements.

In a preferred embodiment, key data 15 can be updated by the memberafter the member has signed up by accessing the database 100 at web site121. Accordingly, the member is not limited to having their digitalnetwork entries 20 be fixed forever. In one preferred embodiment,signing up requires identifying the particular electronic device withits serial number. The system recognizes that device's right to uploaddata entries to the account/databank. At the beginning, the system alsotransmits the key data 15 to that device. The cell phone or other devicethereby becomes a network communication device.

In a second more preferred embodiment depicted in FIGS. 6-8, the networkdevice 22 is not registered upon sign up. Rather, any network device canbe used by any member of the system provided it has software 89 in it.Upon sign up for the system, a member selects a user name and passwordthat will be uniquely associated with his account on the database 100.Alternatively, the new member of the network provides some otherauthentication data which is uniquely associated with his particularaccount.

Software 89 in device 22 allows a user to interact with his account atdatabase 100 using device 22, including accessing and retrieving keydata 15, and processes digital network entries 20 and digital memberentries 30. Making use of software 89, the user interfaces with device22 so as to navigate to or select the leg history function within device22. Software 89 in the network device 22 will then prompt the user ofthe device 22 to enter authentication data uniquely associated with hisuser account on the database 100. Upon entry of this authenticationdata, the network device wirelessly connects the operator of the device22 to the account at system database 100 associated with thatauthentication data. This allows the person controlling device 22 toaccess or transmit data to the digital leg history 10 for that account.

Accordingly, anyone who enters a certain user and password or otherauthentication data will have the ability to send digital networkentries and digital member entries to the digital leg history of themember whose authentication data was provided. Among other things, thiswould allow a network device to be borrowed by a friend who wishes tosend his (the friend's) digital member entry to his (the friend's)digital leg history. Furthermore, if the network device were stolen orentered the possession of the wrong person, such person could not senddata to or alter the digital leg history of the proper owner.

In this second preferred embodiment, upon signing up with the system,key data 15 is still provided. But the key data 15 is not tied to anyparticular network device 22 and is not automatically transmitted to thenetwork device 22 of the accountholder. Hence, signing up does nottrigger key data 15 being transmitted to any network device 22. Software89 in device 22 is such that entry of authentication data into device 22causes device 22 to communicate with the appropriate account at database100 and “know” that a particular key data 15 is associated with theaccountholder that was authenticated. Accordingly, if the member wishesto generate a digital network entry 20, device 22 then transmits thatkey data to another member at short range for entry into the leg historyof the recipient individual using the short range communication methoddescribed above, including for example by holding their devices 22facing each other and transmitting/receiving.

In this second preferred embodiment, preferably when a member transmitsdigital network entries 20 between his device 22 and a network device 22of some other member of the network at short range, if theauthentication data has not already been entered, then it must beentered prior to the transmission. In an alternative embodiment, thetransmitted key data is stored in device 22 but then to enter the datainto the leg history the authentication data must be entered afterreceipt of the transmission.

Likewise, as shown in FIG. 7, after entering authentication data, if themember wishes to capture a sensory image for entry of a digital memberentry 30 into leg history 10, in a preferred embodiment, the user/memberselects automatic mode or non-automatic mode. In automatic mode anysensory image captured by device 22 is automatically forwarded todatabase 100 as a digital member entry 30. In non-automatic mode, uponthe capture of a sensory image as data into device 22, a window or otherprompt opens up and prompts the user to (i) transmit the image to thedatabase 100 for entry into leg history 10 as a digital member entry 30,(ii) not transmit the image to database 100 or (iii) to transmit theimage along with an attached file or an attached note of the member.

The first type of entry in the digital history 10 is digital networkentries made by a person who has signed up and is a member of a network.The digital network entries 20 can occur at any point in time aftersigning up. As an individual goes through his day, he may encounterpeople and may consider the encounter significant enough to record inhis digital leg history or he may consider the data transmitted from theperson he met significant enough to be recorded in his digital leghistory. The digital network entries 20 are comprised of various kindsof data that was transmitted from a network device 22 of some othermember of the network to the network device of the person whose digitalleg history is being formed. In a preferred embodiment, digital networkentries are transferred at short range using wireless communicationmethods. This is illustrated more fully below and in FIG. 2. Thedefinition of “short range” or “proximity” would vary depending on thetechnical specifications of the wireless transmission. Purely by way ofillustration, in one preferred embodiment, “proximate” can mean twentyfeet or less.

If the two individuals are both members of the system and are closeenough to one another they each take out their cell phones or otherelectronic communication devices and if required by the wirelesscommunication method position them so that they face one another, asshown in FIG. 2. The exact transmission mechanism can occur in a numberof ways, and the present invention is not limited to one particularmethod or the exact illustration shown in FIG. 2. In one preferredembodiment, the receiving individual first pushes a button on his or hercell phone to put the receiving person's phone in receiving mode. Thenthe transmitting person pushes a button on his or her cell phone causingthe data of the transmitting person to be transmitted to the receiver'scell phone or device. The receiving individual then pushes the samebutton on his cell phone that he pushed before and he thereby stores and“accepts” the data. This automatically also transmits the data to thesystem web site and online database 100 storing the digital leg history.Alternatively, a separate button has to be pushed to transmit to thedatabase.

This is a general description of digital network entries, which is onetype of entry recorded in the leg history 10. Another type of digitalnetwork entry 20, and one which offers big advantages in businessadvertising, involves vendors who are members of the network. Storeswill recognize the value of getting into your digital leg history 10 atdatabase 100, the way they recognize the value of being in thenewspapers you read or the web sites you visit. So if you encounter astore or other business and the store is part of the network, one way itcan transmit to you data is by placing transmitting devices near eachstore entrance.

As shown in FIG. 3, the minute you enter the store your electroniccommunication device, such as a cell phone, receives a message or signalfrom the store's pre-positioned transmitting cell phone or othertransmitting device near any of the entrances of the premises. The datathat the store is proposing to transmit to you is the store's electronicbusiness card, the store's URL or other an advertisement or promotionalinformation from the store. It would be key data 15 that the store, as amember of the network, previously provided to an account at database100. Again, purely by way of an illustration of one preferred embodimentof the manner in which the transmission would take place, if the memberwho receives a signal from the vendor member or store then hits thebutton on his cell phone to accept and store the information, the datais transmitted, stored and automatically sent to the database 100 on thesystem web site at the member's account at database 100 that holds thedigital leg history (e.g. 10A) of the individual member. FIG. 3A showsthat the store has other pre-positioned electronic communication devicesat other entrances to is premises.

Although the drawing figures show database 100 as being located at asystem web site, the present invention also contemplates database 100being located remote from network device 22 held by the member at anytelecommunications network. Typically, said telecommunications networkwould be a global network such as the world wide web, although it doesnot have to be.

In certain alternative embodiments, the store personnel approach storecustomers who entered the store and offer to transmit a digital networkentry containing the store URL, contact information, advertisement orpromotion. In a further alternative embodiment, the member types in orotherwise inputs the name of the store while he is paying at thecashier.

In certain alternative embodiments, when you sign up with the system youcan choose to allow businesses in a particular industry to have theright to transmit proposed advertising to your digital leg history atany time. This is an alternative embodiment, since it may be tooinvasive, although controls can be added to moderate the invasiveness.For example, the member can set their digital leg history to a mode thatdoes not accept any such advertising or there can be option to deleteall advertising that came into the leg history other than data that wastransmitted when the person was physically present in the premises ofthe business.

The present invention also envisions having the digital network entriesand the digital member entries coded to allow the user to instantlyrecognize the type of entry it is even while reviewing the digital leghistory itself. One type of coding can be color codes. Another type ofcoding can be icons adjacent the beginning of the title of the entry. Afurther type of code can be an acronym—“BC” for a text or art consistingof an electronic business card, “T” for text, “AV” for audiovisual, “P”for photograph, “DNE” for digital network entry, “DME” for digitalmember entry. The “T” may indicate that there is a significant amount oftext (i.e. a song) rather than one line of a URL or three lines ofcontact information. The acronyms can be stylized and/or can incorporatean icon. As can be seen from the acronyms, the codes can distinguishbetween digital network entries and digital member entries. The codescan also distinguish between different types of digital memberentries—audio, visual, audiovisual, etc.

In a preferred embodiment, when the data first goes from the system'sweb site to the transmitter's cell phone the data is “coded” in anymanner known to those skilled in the art so that when the transmitterlater transmits it to a recipient, the recipient cannot re-transmit thatsender's data to another member of the network even if the recipientattains or has transmitting privileges.

As previously noted, network device 22 should have short range wirelesscapability to be able to receive and transmit data or various times(text, video, audio, etc.) to and from other members of the network. Inaddition, device 22 should be able to transmit data wirelessly to thedatabase 100 on the world wide web.

The second type of entry in digital leg history 10 is one or moredigital member entries 30. These entries are entries that are madeunilaterally at any point in time by the person whose digital leghistory it is. The member entries arise when the person perceivessomething where he is (i.e. where his legs are) and decides to captureit and incorporate it into his digital leg history. The data that formsthe digital member entry 30 can be any a digital representation of anysensory image perceived by the member at a point during the time thatthe digital leg history covered. By definition, the data would besomething that the member considers significant enough to enter into hisleg history. In contrast to the digital network entries 20 the digitalmember entries 30 that get entered into the person's leg history areunilateral—they do not require receiving anything from another personwho a member of the network/system.

A simple example of a digital member entry 30 occurs when the member iscarrying a digital camera and decides to take a photograph of something.It is noted that the digital camera we are speaking of would be one thathas the capability to upload data to a database on a globaltelecommunications network such as the Internet. Applicant is not awareof whether such a digital camera exists presently on the market atpresent. In either case, the technology certainly exists forincorporating wireless transmitting capability into a digital camera, ifonly by conjoining a digital camera with a cellular telephone, a PDA,IPOD® or other electronic device.

In certain embodiments, another example of a digital member entry 30(not shown in the digital leg history 10 depicted in FIG. 5) can occurwhen a member can enter text into network device 22 whether manually orotherwise and thereby record the time and place of their intellectualadvancement. Preferably, the “time” means the calendar date and the timeor it can mean the date alone or the time of day alone. The text can bea sudden insight into a study topic, for example. This is particularlyimportant for creative people or people who study all day long, i.e.researchers or students of religious texts.

Suppose the member wants to record all the places he will go to in along afternoon of errands and store visits. He wants to record that hewent into a particular store and enter it into his leg history. After heleaves the store he positions the camera and takes a photograph of thesign 55 in the front of the store (or any other distinguishing featureof the store that reminds him of the experience of going into thatstore). As shown in FIG. 4, the photograph of store sign 55 isautomatically transmitted to database 100 for entry into the digital leghistory 10 as a digital member entry 30. In a preferred embodiment, asshown in FIG. 5 the photograph is coded to indicate that it is aphotograph by having the name of the store preceded by the letter “P” iniconic or stylized fashion.

The reason that iconic or stylized codes are used to describe the typesof digital member entries 30 and digital network entries 20 is that whenthe member accesses and reviews his or her digital leg history 10, seee.g. FIG. 5, the member does not see all the data on the initial screen.The screen shown in FIG. 5 is merely the initial screen of the list ofentries comprising the digital leg history 10. The member then has theability to call up the full entry by clicking on or otherwise selectingthat entry seen on the screen. For the benefit of obtaining an overviewof the entries in the digital leg history 10, the icons or codespreceding the entry are provided. As can be seen in FIG. 5, the placesare and times of entry are also recorded. The places are obtaining fromthe fact that each device 22 is capable of communicating with andreceiving place data from the global positioning system used in thepresent invention. It is noted that the global positioning device uses asatellite or any other appropriate means known to those skilled in theart.

As shown in FIG. 8, in one preferred embodiment, the digital history 10is presented as a monthly calendar 334 broken down by date whereinwithin each date there is a series of entries (digital network entriesand/or digital member entries) substantially in the form as shown inFIG. 8. Preferably, in this “monthly calendar” embodiment as shown inFIG. 8 the entries on each date in the calendar may be rather small toread. Accordingly, when one clicks on a particular date, say May 18,that date opens a window containing only the entries for that date,which window is large to enough to occupy at least a good part of thescreen (calendar 334, preferably, is then viewable in the background).It is noted that although in FIG. 8 URLs are the only entries in thedigital leg history 10, this should not be taken to mean that themonthly calendar embodiment requires this. This is an alternativeembodiment combined with the “monthly calendar” embodiment.

As noted, it is believed that in the not too distant future virtuallyall individuals will have URLs, which constitute a form of advertisementfor themselves, and that chance encounters between people will result inthe desire to exchange URLs, which in effect involves having peopleaccess the world wide web outdoors, the present invention makes use ofthis important development by using global positioning systems totrigger a recordation of time and place based on a person's havingperformed a data transfer or a data entry (at least those that theperson considers significant pursuant to the present invention), ratherthan based on a person's simply being somewhere. This is particularlyimportant in a world in which data transfers are themselves more andmore essential.

Although FIG. 5 depicts the place data in the form of a written address,other ways of depicting place data may be used. For example, the zipcode of the location alone may be used for space reasons. Alternatively,any place data, i.e. digital representation of the location where theentry was made, may be used in the initial screen of the digital leghistory and then by clicking specifically on that place data the fulladdress may be retrieved.

In a preferred embodiment, by clicking on or otherwise selecting aparticular URL depicted in the initial screen 10 of digital leg history10, the user immediately is taken to the web site called for. In thisway, a person meeting someone new can electronically receive thatperson's URL (provided the person is a member of the network at least atsome level of privileges), for example using the procedure depictedabove and shown in FIG. 2, and then at any later time go to thatperson's web site. The owner of the digital leg history not only has thecontact information of the other member at his disposal, but has asimple way to enter the web site of the other individual. It is believedthat in the not too distant future this will be particularly usefulbecause it will allow a “world” in which everyone has a web site andpeople can simply exchange their URLs and invite others to instantlyenter their web sites.

It should be understood that the digital leg history 10 will besearchable in a variety of ways for the member. Purely by way ofexample, software either located in the network device 22 (and forming apart of software 89) or accessible by the computer that houses thedatabase will allow the member, at the touch of a button to place theentries 20, 30 in order whether chronologically, by the location of theentry, by the identity of the person or vendor, by data type, etc. Thisis a searching feature. In a preferred embodiment, unless the userindicates otherwise, the default ordering of entries in digital leghistory 10 will be chronological. Preferably, although the user canre-order the entries in leg history 10, the essence of the digital leghistory is a chronological presentation of such entries, because theword “history” in the phrase “digital leg “history” denotes such achronological ordering.

A person who wishes to access their digital leg history 10 does so, in apreferred embodiment, by accessing database 100 at a web site on theworld wide web or other telecommunications network. In an alternativeembodiment, the person stores leg history 10 on his own hard drive ofany appropriate computer device.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the entire database100 may be searchable by a member who has a digital history 10 on thedatabase 100. A searcher can search for any entry—digital network entry20 or digital member entry 30—in database 100 that satisfies aparticular time/place characteristic. For example, “Sep. 11, 2001 andNew York, N.Y.” might retrieve any entry that was entered into a digitalhistory 10 within database 100 on that date and at that place. In thisembodiment, a search engine controlled by the system operating database100 will perform the searching in accordance with an algorithm providedto it. The time and place characteristics can in certain embodimentsalso be broader than the entry in the digital history, for example “theweek on Sep. 11, 2001 and New York City”. The above database searchingcan be accomplished due to the fact that database 100 has digitalhistories 10 whose entries are stamped based not only the time of theirentry but also based on the place at which that they were entered.Furthermore, the place of entry and the time of entry are separatelabels that are independent of the content of the entry itself.

Accordingly, a method is presented of searching a database containingentries having time and place labels or stamps. The database is database100 representing a collection of digital histories 10 or in certainembodiments is any other database having documents labeled by not justtime but also the place at which the data file was entered. Thus, theentry is associated with the time and with the place. The methodcomprises providing a database of documents, each of said documentshaving a label, said label indicating a time at which and a place atwhich the document was entered into said database, (ii) inputting a timeand a place as a search term in a search engine algorithm, the searchengine algorithm having access to the database and (iii) retrievingsearch results that correspond to the time and place inputted.

Since the present invention may combine features from differentembodiments, it should be also noted that if the store (see FIG. 4) is amember then as he enters the store his digital camera, cell phone orother electronic device that he registered when he signed up willreceive a proposed entry from the store's electronic devicepre-positioned at the entrance. However, that would be a digital networkentry rather than a digital member entry because it comes from a fellowmember and is not unilateral. In the second preferred embodiment, thedevice 22 held by the member of the network would receive a proposedentry from the store's electronic device at the entrance to the storeeven though the device 22 itself is not registered with the system,provided the device 22 has software 89 within it. It would then be up tothe user to enter authentication data if he wanted to accept the entryand transmit it to the digital leg history 10. Alternatively, if theuser had already entered authentication data prior to entering thepremises of the store, he merely has to accept the proposed entry fromthe store and the entry will be automatically captured and transmittedto the leg history 10 at database 100.

In another example of a digital member entry 30, the member takes asnapshot with a digital camera or videos a scene at a park and uploadsit to his databank at the system. An hour later he meets with someoneand records a snippet of the audio from the meeting. This entry is codedas audio. An hour later he meets a new person at a function and inputsthe person's URL which is instantly uploaded to his databank.

In a further preferred embodiment, in the data bank of his leg historyfor the day, all entries have a time stamp and also have a geographicalplace stamp because the system makes use of a GPS or other navigationalsystem that is activated at the moment the accountholder uploads eithera digital network entry 20 or a digital member entry 30 into hisdatabank on the system.

The digital network entries 20 and the digital member entries 30 areautomatically transmitted to a database located on a telecommunicationsnetwork at the time of entry. “At a time of entry” means when thedigital network entry 20 or the digital member entry 30 is captured byand entered into the network device 22, and preferably when theseentries are entered into device 22 for the first time. When a personwants to review their digital leg history 10, they obtain access to theentire digital history for viewing by simply going to the web site ofthe system and accessing the database, after entry of authenticationdata.

A further feature of the present invention is that the digital history10 can be updated by the person at any time by simply adding a digitalnetwork entry 20 or a digital member entry 30. In the system database100, there is maintained separate digital leg histories 10A, 10B, 10C,10D, etc. for each person who signed up with the system/network.However, in certain preferred embodiments serving public security and/orpolice functions, the system also has the ability to search the entiredatabase 100 representing a collection of the digital leg histories of apopulation or of a group of individuals in a particular location, suchas a zip code, state or country.

In this patent application the term “sensory images” means audio,visual, olfactory, tactile and/or taste images. The most common sensoryimages will be visual and the second most common will be audio. Anycombination of images are also contemplated such as audio visual images.Furthermore, in this patent application, the term “proximate networkdevice of the person” means a network device of the person that islocated proximate to the network device of the member of the network,said member being different than the person (who is also a member of thenetwork). In addition, in this context, the term “proximate” means, inone preferred embodiment and described in claim 1, within sight of oneanother and preferably also within a short enough range that short-rangewireless communication system (purely by way of example, Bluetooth®)function properly. It is contemplated by the present invention that theterm proximate can be defined differently so that it can be even closerthan “within sight”. For example, proximate can be defined to meanwithin 20 yards and within a short enough range that a short-rangewireless communication system can function properly.

Preferably, digital network entries 20 and digital member entries 30 arenot work files that reflect work done by a person processing data.Rather, these entries are unprocessed files capturing significant dataat a certain time and place. They therefore can be said to contain“experiential” data, in the sense that the data in them relatesignificantly to the time in which and place at which the data thereinwas captured or transmitted, and thereby represent a significantexperience for the person who entered them into his digital leg history.If this was not the case, the function of providing a nostalgicexperience upon review of the digital leg history entries would not beeffective.

FIG. 8 also shows an advertisement 333 on blank space on the leg historyscreen, i.e. the screen displaying the leg history 10. This is importantbecause the leg histories will have become popular. The advertisementcan end up in the leg history 10 in a number of ways. One way is thatlarge companies approach the system owner and offer to placeadvertisements on digital leg history account holders having aparticular profile. Preferably, the profile is a profile of the digitalnetwork entries 20 that are comprised of URLs. The content of the URLsin the leg history 10 make it more likely that the advertisement isattractive to the person whose leg history it is. “Attractive” in thiscontext means likely to generate a positive response to theadvertisement.

For example, in one embodiment a person whose leg history 10 contains ahigh preponderance of URLs for airline companies would be served anadvertisement from an airline company. Understandably, an airlinecompany would be more interested in having its advertisements appear onthe digital history 10 of such a person than on the digital history 10of a person without a high preponderance of airline URLs.

This requires that the URLs be categorized into topics that definebusiness categories. The system 121 running database 100 would need todo this. One way would be for the database to search for well knownnames of airlines or the URLs of such airline companies throughout thedatabase.

In an alternative embodiment, those business that have provided digitalnetwork entries to members of the network as they enter store premises,will have the right to advertise separately in a blank space on the leghistory screen.

In certain embodiments, the advertisement appears whenever the member,after providing authentication data, accesses his leg history 10. Inthis way, advertisers have a new way of reaching potential purchasersbecause the leg history represents where the purchasers have been.

Using Digital Histories to Improve Search Results

As seen from FIG. 9 and the description herein, a new method that usesdigital histories to enhance web searching results is presented. It is amethod of searching the Internet or the world wide web using the digitalhistory 10 of the present invention. Algorithms can be easily imaginedby those skilled in the art of search engine algorithms that wouldimprove searching. The search engine would be given access to thedigital history 10 of the person searching and the digital leg historiesof other members in the database 100. The search engine algorithm wouldconsider the URLs in the digital history of the person doing thesearching.

It is noted that when the search engine accesses the database 100 ofdigital histories, it only looks at the digital network entries 20 andonly those that are URLs. Alternatively, it searches all digital networkentries 20 and those digital network entries 20 that are not URLs have aURL associated with them. This would be because in this embodiment whena person signs up and provides key data, if the key data 15 is not a URLthen the person is either given a URL by the system of provides apre-existing URL to the system along with or as part of the key data 15.In this case, when the key data is transmitted and becomes a digitalnetwork entry 20, it has a URL associated with it even if the key data15 is primarily text. This just means that a search engine will “find” aURL in that digital network entry 20 even though the digital networkentry is a poem or text. The text or poem is what the member will seewhen he accesses and looks through his digital history 10.

Accordingly, with respect to these methods of using digital histories,it is emphasized that the digital history involved is understood broadlyin that it may even be a digital history that only contains digitalnetwork entries. Even more broadly, it may be a digital history thatonly contains URLs.

A method is provided of using a digital history of a person who is amember of a network in searching a database of URLs (i.e. the world wideweb, not database 100) by means of a search algorithm to improve thesearch result ranking. The algorithm of the search considers a pluralityof factors in ranking search results of URLs known to those skilled inthe art of search engine algorithms. This assignment of a degree ofpriority merely adds one additional factor in the collection of factorsdetermining overall priority in the search result ranking.

As shown in FIG. 9, a use of digital histories to perform web searchinginvolves searching for a particular kind of business, for example in aparticular geographic area. Suppose a person, Mr. Smith, dines at aparticular New York restaurant. Mr. Smith therefore has thatrestaurant's URL in his digital history. Mr. Smith is visiting or willvisit Texas and needs to locate an appropriate restaurant in Dallas. Theidea is that restaurants in Dallas which have been frequented by peoplewho have also dined in the New York restaurant that Mr. Smith frequentsare more appealing candidates to be a restaurant suitable for Mr. Smith.The search engine would be given access to the digital history 10 of Mr.Smith who is conducting a search on the search engine and the searchengine would also have access to digital histories of others at database100. An algorithm, which could be the search engine algorithm or else analgorithm operated by the database 100 and ultimately outputted to thesearch engine, could identify one or more persons (called “usefulpersons”) who have a common restaurant URL with Mr. Smith and who alsohave a restaurant URL for a restaurant in Dallas, the city that Mr.Smith entered in his search. The algorithm would then assign amathematical priority to such a restaurant. As shown in FIG. 9 thesearch hit ranking includes the URL in a priority position that itordinarily would not be located at. FIG. 9 makes use of excerpts ofdigital histories of the “useful person” and of the “searching person”to illustrate how the method works. These excerpts may take portions ofentries from different pages in the digital history 10.

Accordingly, the following method is presented. A method of using adigital history of a searching person who is a member of a network andwho is searching a database of URLs for a certain kind of business in aparticular geographic area by means of a search algorithm that considersa plurality of factors in ranking search results of URLs, comprising:(i) providing the search engine algorithm 211 with access to the digitalhistories of persons who are members of the network, (ii) searching thedatabase of digital histories for URLs to identify a target business ofsaid kind in the particular geographic area wherein a URL 98 of saidtarget business appears in a digital history of a useful person who is amember of the network, the digital history of said useful person alsoincluding a URL for a second business of the same kind located in asecond geographic area, wherein the searching person has in his digitalhistory the URL of the second business, and (iv) including in theplurality of factors an assignment of priority to the URL of the targetbusiness. It is noted that geographic area need not mean a differentcity.

It is noted as before (in the first use of digital histories for websearching) that when the search engine accesses the database 100 ofdigital histories, it only looks at the digital network entries 20 andonly those that are URLs. Alternatively, it searches all digital networkentries 20 and those digital network entries 20 that are not URLs have aURL associated with them. This would be because in this embodiment whena person signs up and provides key data, if the key data 15 is not a URLthen the person is either given a URL by the system of provides apre-existing URL to the system along with or as part of the key data 15.When the key data is transmitted and becomes a digital network entry 20,it has a URL associated with it even if the key data 15 is primarilytext.

This method requires that the URLs be categorized into topics thatdefine business categories. Either database 100 or the search algorithmwould need to do this. In this context the database 100 does notnecessarily mean the actual database but rather the system web site 121running database 100. It is believed that most search engine algorithmsalready do this. One possible way of doing this is for the search enginealgorithm, for example, Google®, to search the words in the web site ofthe URL and categorize the URL into topics based on the content of thewords in the web site. This would require searching the actual worldwide web. Another way is for the URL to be categorized by topic by themember of the network when the URL is entered as key data into database100. Another way for the system running database 100 to do this would befor the system 121 to search for well known names of businesses of acertain kind or the URLs of such businesses throughout the database.Alternatively, the system 121 could access and use the same method thatthe search engine algorithms use to categorize such businesses.

More broadly speaking, the method comprises a method wherein a searchingperson searches a world wide web for a certain kind of business in aparticular geographic area using a search algorithm that considers aplurality of factors in ranking search results of URLs, the methodcomprising (i) providing the search algorithm with access to a databaseof URLs, said database of URLs incorporating a plurality of personalsubcollections of URLs, each of said personal subcollections of URLsincluding URLs that were transmitted in person to persons who aremembers of a network and who entered the transmitted URL into a personalsubcollection of the member, (ii) searching URLs in said database toidentify a target business of said kind in the particular geographicarea wherein a URL of said target business appears in a personalsubcollection of URLs of a useful person who is a member of the network,the personal subcollection of said useful person also including a URLfor a second business of the same kind located in a second geographicarea, wherein the searching person has in his personal subcollection ofURLs the URL of the second business, and (iii) including in theplurality of factors an assignment of priority to the URL of the targetbusiness.

The present invention further contemplates an even broader example ofthis method applied to web searching (the second kind of use of digitalhistories in web searching) that is entirely independent of geographicarea. For example, a searching person who has a patent attorney andwhose patent attorney's URL is listed in the searching person's digitalhistory 10 is now searching for a real estate attorney (the targetbusiness) on the world wide web (or on a telecommunications network).There may be a useful person in database 100 of digital histories inrelation to this searching person. That is, the useful person would beone who also has the same patent attorney's URL listed in their digitalhistory 10 and who in addition has a real estate attorney whose URL islisted in the useful person's digital history 10. The searching personwould trust that real estate attorney more than another real estateattorney, especially everything else being equal.

Accordingly, the following broader method is presented. A method ofusing a digital history of a searching person who is a member of anetwork and who is searching a database of URLs for a first kind ofbusiness within a particular topic by means of a search algorithm thatconsiders a plurality of factors in ranking search results of URLs,comprising: (i) providing the search engine algorithm 21 1 with accessto the digital histories of persons who are members of the network, (ii)searching through URLs in the digital histories of the database in orderto identify a target business of said first kind wherein a URL 98 ofsaid target business appears in a digital history of a useful person whois a member of the network, the digital history of said useful personalso including a URL for a second business of a second kind (but withinthe same topic), wherein the searching person has in his digital historythe URL of the second business, and (iii) including in the plurality offactors an assignment of priority to the URL of the target business. Itis noted that “assignment of priority” in this case, as before, merelymeans that everything else being equal some degree of priority is givenin the collection of factors considered y the search algorithm. Thisassignment of a degree of priority merely adds one additional factor inthe collection of factors determining overall priority in the searchresult ranking. It is further noted that geographic area need not mean adifferent city.

Again, more broadly speaking the method is presented wherein a searchingperson searches a world wide web for a certain first kind of businessusing a search algorithm that considers a plurality of factors inranking search results of URLs, the method comprising (i) providing thesearch algorithm with access to a database of URLs, said database ofURLs incorporating a plurality of personal subcollections of URLs, eachof said personal subcollections of URLs including URLs that weretransmitted in person to persons who are members of a network and whoentered the transmitted URL into a personal subcollection of the member,(ii) searching URLs in said database to identify a target business ofsaid first kind wherein a URL of said target business appears in apersonal subcollection of URLs of a useful person who is a member of thenetwork, the personal subcollection of said useful person also includinga URL for a second business of the second kind, wherein the searchingperson has in his personal subcollection of URLs the URL of the secondbusiness, and (iii) including in the plurality of factors an assignmentof priority to the URL of the target business.

Alternatively, an even broader example would be where instead of thebusiness of the second kind being within the same geographic area orwithin the same topic category (attorneys) the method can just call auseful person someone who has any other business whose URL is found inboth the searching person's digital history and the useful person'sdigital history. However, it is believed that the trust level would bereduced. That is, while I might trust the real estate attorney selectionof someone who has the same patent attorney as me, I will be somewhatless impressed with the real estate attorney selection of someone whohas the same doctor or the same grocery store as me.

The search engine will preferably give also priority based on time inthe following sense. We stated that a useful person in database 100 ofdigital histories in relation to this searching person also has the samepatent attorney's URL listed in their digital history 10 and also has areal estate attorney whose URL is listed in the useful person's digitalhistory 10. If the useful person's selection of the real estate attorneyand/or patent attorney was a long time before the searching person isdoing his search, it should be given less priority.

Furthermore, the frequency of useful selection may also be considered.If the useful person has even more in common with the searching person,i.e. he has two patent attorneys URLs in his digital history that are incommon with the patent attorneys URLs in the searching person's digitalhistory 10, the useful person's selection of real estate attorney iseven more trusted and given more priority in the search ranking.

It can be appreciated from these examples that the method of usingdigital histories in web searching has countless other applications thatdiffer from the above examples. Accordingly, these examples should betreated as merely illustrative of the concept involved. In addition, allfactors used by search engine algorithms today or in the future can beused in the method of the present invention involving using digitalhistories to improved web searching.

In a further embodiment of the method of the present invention usingdigital history for enhanced web searching, all digital network entries20 can be either a URL or would have a URL associated with it. When aperson signs up and provides key data 15, the person also provides apre-existing URL or is given a new URL by the system.

It is to be understood that while the method and apparatus of thisinvention have been described and illustrated in detail, theabove-described embodiments are simply illustrative of the principles ofthe invention. It is to be understood also that various othermodifications and changes may be devised by those skilled in the artwhich will embody the principles of the invention and fall within thespirit and scope thereof. It is not desired to limit the invention tothe exact construction and operation shown and described. The spirit andscope of this invention are limited only by the spirit and scope of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of creating and/or using physicallocation histories, comprising: maintaining a processing system that isconnected to a telecommunications network and configured to provide anaccount to an individual member and to a stationary vendor member of amember network; providing an application that configures a handheldmobile communication device of each individual member of a membernetwork to, upon instances of a physical encounter between theindividual member and the stationary vendor member of a plurality ofstationary vendor members of the member network at a physical premisesof the stationary vendor member, a location of the physical encounterdetermined by a positioning system in communication with either thehandheld mobile communication device or a communication device of thestationary vendor member, and upon acceptance by the handheld mobilecommunication device of the individual member of an automatic proposalfrom the stationary vendor member, transmit a URL of the stationaryvendor member and a URL of the individual member to the processingsystem automatically, thereby generating a location history entry, in atleast the account of the individual member, that includes (i) the URLof, and a location of, the stationary vendor member, (ii) a time anddate of the physical encounter, and (iii) an identity or the account ofthe individual member and of the stationary vendor member, the URL ofthe individual member associated with the individual member before thephysical encounter between the individual member and the stationaryvendor member; the application maintaining a viewable physical encounterhistory on the handheld mobile communication device that includes URLsfrom multiple stationary vendor members and is searchable from thehandheld mobile communication device (i) by URL of the individual memberand of the stationary vendor member, (ii) by geographic location, and(iii) by time of the physical encounter, maintaining, using theprocessing system, a database of physical encounter histories of membersof the member network whose accounts received the location history entrythat was generated during the physical encounters, the individualmember's account having data transfer privileges that allow the physicalencounter history to be accumulated through transmission of locationhistory entries from multiple handheld mobile communication devices ofthe individual member over time; and wherein the physical encounterhistory of a particular individual member includes at least one visualtimeline of physical encounters of the particular individual member. 2.The method of claim 1, further comprising searching the physicalencounter histories of the database by URL in response to a search querythat utilizes a search engine.
 3. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising using results of the searching of the physical encounterhistories of the database by URL to affect a ranking of the firststationary vendor member in a response to the search query.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the location history of each individualmember includes at least one visual timeline of physical encounters ofthat individual member.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprisingentering digital member entries into the physical encounter histories.6. The method of claim 1, wherein upon the instances of the physicalencounter the URL of the stationary vendor member is transmitted byshort range communication to the handheld mobile communication device ofthe individual member.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein a search of aphysical encounter history of a particular individual member isavailable to the particular individual member, upon the particularindividual member signing in to an account at the processing system. 8.A method of creating and/or using physical location histories,comprising: maintaining a processing system that is connected to atelecommunications network and configured to provide an account to anindividual member and to a stationary vendor member of a member network;providing an application that configures a handheld mobile communicationdevice of each individual member of a member network to, upon instancesof (i) a physical encounter between the individual member and astationary vendor member of a plurality of stationary vendor members ofthe member network at a physical premises of the stationary vendormember, a location of the physical encounter determined by a positioningsystem in communication with either the handheld mobile communicationdevice or a communication device of the stationary vendor member, whenacceptance by the handheld mobile communication device of the individualmember of an automatic proposal from the stationary vendor memberoccurs, and upon instances of (ii) a physical encounter between anindividual member and a second individual member of the member networkrecognized when a short range communication is transmitted by thehandheld mobile communication device of one of the individual member andthe second individual member to the other of the individual member andthe second individual member, transmit automatically to the processingsystem, a URL of the individual member and a URL of either (i) thestationary vendor member or (ii) the second individual member therebygenerating a location history entry, in at least the account of theindividual member and of any second individual member participating inthe physical encounter, that includes (i) the URL of, and a location of,the stationary vendor member or the secondary vendor member, (ii) a timeand date of the physical encounter, and (iii) an identity or the accountof the individual member and of the stationary vendor member or secondindividual member, the URL of the individual member associated with theindividual member before the physical encounter between the individualmember and the stationary vendor member or second individual member; theapplication maintaining a viewable physical encounter history on thehandheld mobile communication device that includes URLs from multiplestationary vendor members and is searchable from the handheld mobilecommunication device (i) by the URL of the individual member and by theURL of either the second individual member or the stationary vendormember, (ii) by geographic location, and (iii) by time of the physicalencounter, maintaining, using the processing system, a database ofphysical encounter histories of members of the member network whoseaccounts received the location history entry that was generated duringthe physical encounters, the individual member's account having datatransfer privileges that allow the physical encounter history to beaccumulated through transmission of location history entries frommultiple handheld mobile communication devices of the individual memberover time; and wherein the physical encounter history of a particularindividual member includes at least one visual timeline of physicalencounters of the particular individual member.
 9. The method of claim8, wherein each physical encounter history of the database identifies byURL the physical encounters recorded therein of the individual memberand of either the second individual member or stationary member.
 10. Themethod of claim 8, further comprising searching the physical encounterhistories of the database by URL in response to a search query thatutilizes a search engine.
 11. The method of claim 10, further comprisingusing results of the searching of the physical encounter histories ofthe database by URL to affect a ranking of the stationary vendor memberin a response to a search query.
 12. The method of claim 8, wherein theshort range communication includes a proposal from the second individualmember, which the individual member has an option to accept, to transmitthe location history entry to the physical encounter history of theindividual member.
 13. The method of claim 8, further comprisingentering digital member entries into the physical encounter histories.14. A system for creating and/or using physical location histories,comprising: a processing system connected to a telecommunicationsnetwork and to a positioning system and configured to provide an accountto an individual member and to a stationary vendor member of a membernetwork; an application that configures a handheld mobile communicationdevice of each individual member of the member network to, uponinstances of a physical encounter between the individual member and thestationary vendor member of a plurality of stationary vendor members ofthe member network at a physical premises of the stationary vendormember, the physical encounter recognized by the handheld mobilecommunication device upon receiving a short range communication from atransmitting device of the stationary member, transmit a URL of thestationary vendor member and a URL of the individual member to theprocessing system automatically as a result of the physical encounter atthe physical premises, thereby generating a location history entry, inat least the account of the individual member, that includes (i) the URLof, and a location of, the stationary vendor member, (ii) a time anddate of the physical encounter, and (iii) an identity or the account ofthe individual member and of the stationary vendor member, the URL ofthe individual member associated with the individual member before thephysical encounter between the individual member and the stationaryvendor member, a location of the individual member at the physicalpremises determined by a positioning system or by the key data of thestationary vendor member; each application configured to maintain aviewable physical encounter history on the handheld mobile communicationdevice that includes URLs from multiple stationary vendor members and issearchable from the handheld mobile communication device (i) by URL ofthe individual member and of the stationary vendor member, (ii) bygeographic location, and (iii) by time of the physical encounter, theindividual member's account having data transfer privileges that allowthe physical encounter history to be accumulated through transmission oflocation history entries from multiple handheld mobile communicationdevices of the individual member over time; the processing systemincluding a database of physical encounter histories of members of themember network whose accounts received the location history entry thatwas generated during the physical encounters, wherein the physicalencounter history of a particular individual member includes at leastone visual timeline of physical encounters of the particular individualmember.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the short rangecommunication from the transmitting device of the stationary vendormember includes a proposal, which the individual member has an option toaccept, to transmit the location history entry to the physical encounterhistory of the individual member.
 16. The system of claim 14, whereinthe physical location histories also have digital member entries. 17.The system of claim 14, wherein the URL is an address on the world wideweb.
 18. The system of claim 14, wherein the short range communicationinvolves transfer of the URL of the stationary vendor member.
 19. Thesystem of claim 14, wherein the location history entry is also therebygenerated in the account of the stationary vendor member.